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Special Olympics Massachusetts
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Champions for 50
As the Special Olympics Movement reaches its 50th anniversary, Special Olympics Massachusetts Champions for 50 will be highlighting 50 partnerships between Special Olympics athletes and community leaders - including corporations, small businesses, financial institutions and professional sports teams. Each Unified partnership will strengthen their legacy of building a more inclusive community with a commitment to raise critical funds and increase awareness of Special Olympics in the commonwealth.
What will be your legacy?
Over the next two years, we will be reflecting on where we have been, the challenges individuals with intellectual disabilities have overcome, and how sports has helped change lives. We ask that you, our people - athletes, coaches, volunteers, donors, partners and friends - take this opportunity to challenge yourselves.
Answer the question:
"What do I want my Special Olympics legacy to be?"
And then, just like the athletes have for the past 50 years, go for it! Make it happen! Leave Your Mark!
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Thank you for going the Xtra Mile
On April 17th twenty eight runners stood shoulder to shoulder in Hopkinton at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. Each individual with his or her own story, all of them bound together by a common cause. The 2017 Xtra Mile Marathon team set out to increase awareness and raise funds to support Special Olympics Massachusetts. In the end it was a Special Olympics athlete, Greg Schwartz who finished with the best time, expressing to the world that individuals with intellectual disabilities deserve the same athletic opportunities as those without.
In the end, the team joined together at a post race party to celebrate their achievements on and off the road. As a group, they raised over $310,000 for Special Olympics Massachusetts.
Thanks to John Hancock for continuing to support the mission of Special Olympics. If not for their nonprofit program, the Xtra Mile Boston Marathon Team would not have been possible.
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Families Get Fit Together
Keeping fit and healthy is on most people's to do list. For many families finding the time can be difficult. Incorporating your workout with the entire family can solve that problem. The
MetroWest YMCA in Framingham is offering just such an option.
Working with
Special Olympics Massachusetts the Y has created a Fit Families Challenge for groups of four, whether it's a family unit or an individual with three members of their support group, connected to
Special Olympics. The six week program started with a one hour assessment where each family discussed what they wanted to achieve.
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Upcoming Events:
Sports Competitions:
Fundraising opportunities:
Special Events:
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New Resource Directory
Exceptional Lives recently launched its free, user-friendly
Disability Resource Directory, a searchable online database of disability programs and providers in Massachusetts. It contains more than
1,200 resources in 54 service categories in areas such as:
- Therapy (including speech, PT, OT, and ABA providers)
- Education
- Employment (including transition & vocational programs)
- Medical & clinical
- Adult programs (including housing & transportation services)
- Parent & caregiver support
- Legal help
- Social & recreational (including after-school programs & summer camps)
- Sibling support, family grants, and more.
The Resource Directory is designed for parents, caregivers, and professionals. Users can search for services by zip code, age group, disability type, if it is covered by MassHealth, and whether a facility is wheelchair-accessible. Each search produces a
printable resource list and a
visual resource map displaying options in a person's local area.
The Directory is an updated and redesigned version of a resource database previously managed by the nonprofit Autism Consortium, whose resource specialists used it to connect families to relevant resources. The resource specialists served families in Massachusetts hospitals including Boston Children's Hospital, Mass General Hospital's Lurie Center, Tufts Floating Hospital for Children, Boston Medical Center, and UMass Memorial in Worcester.
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Champions for 50 Spotlight:
John Hancock & Greg Schwartz
Champions for 50. John Hancock has committed Boston Marathon charity bibs to Special Olympics Massachusetts. Greg Schwartz committed to running the
2017 Boston Marathon. Together, John Hancock and Schwartz have raised money to expand access to athletic training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities while increasing public awareness through the most prestigious running event in New England.
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
#PlayUnified
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